The Doll
by Peridot-chan
Summary: Oneshot CountxHaydee It's Christmas Eve on Earth and the young Haydee is overwhelmed by the sights and sounds, but something reminds her piercingly of home.


The hustle and bustle of Earth on Christmas Eve was just as swift and bright as he had told her. She clung to the hem of his cloak so that she wouldn't be separated from him as she spun this way and that to see the decorations. On one street corner was a chorus of children about her size, all dressed in red and green. On another corner, there was a man selling wreaths made of fir boughs adorned with red velvet ribbons. Much closer, however, was the candy vendor.

She had but to look imploringly up at the Count and he tossed a gold coin to the vendor, who nodded for her to choose from the overwhelming selection of sweets. It took only a moment, though, for her to pick out a bag of candied fruits. She ate a few and stowed the rest in her pocket for later.

They had come to Earth to meet up with Ali, whom the Count had sent on a long distance errand some weeks prior. Even though they weren't scheduled to rendezvous until today, the Pharaon had landed on Earth two days ago. Festivals and operas had occupied most of their time. Now, however, they strolled along the sidewalk with hundreds of other revelers. Even among such a crowd, when she looked up at her master, she could almost see an aura of dignity surrounding him. His proud features stood out sharply, even against the impressive crowd. She thought it was truly an honor to be able to walk next to such a man. She smiled and reached for his hand, but as she did so, something in a shop window caught her eye.

Sitting snugly between a stuffed bear and a model ship was a doll made of porcelain. It had a carefully painted face and smooth yellow hair and wore a red dress trimmed in pearly beads. It wasn't an extraordinary doll, but she couldn't look away. It was painfully familiar…

The doll was nearly exactly like the one her father had brought for her from the East. She had never played with it much; it seemed too exotic to be tossed about like any other doll. Instead, it sat on a shelf, watching over the entire room with a warm smile. The doll smiled just like Mother always had as she tucked the young girl in to bed.

Suddenly, she felt the Count lightly squeezing her hand and she was pulled back into the present quite abruptly. She used her free hand to wipe a tear out of the corner of her eye.

"Come along, Haydée. Ali will be waiting on us."

And surely enough, when they arrived on the steps of the courthouse, Ali was there. He handed the Count a sealed envelope, which the Count put inside his coat. From the same pocket he drew another envelope, which he handed to Haydée.

"I have one more small task for you, Ali. Please accompany Haydée inside the courthouse to deliver this. You may take the carriage-- I have other business to attend to here."

When Ali and Haydée arrived at the mansion on Champs-Elysées, a horse-drawn carriage stood outside. Ali lead her around to the back entrance. They could hear voices echoing down the watery corridors, but Haydée caught only bits of the conversation.

"Visconte Pirelli, if you…"

"…course, your Excellency. I…"

Ali escorted her to her own private chamber. Once she had closed the door behind herself, she took a deep breath and held it for a few moments. Cinnamon and evergreen still hung in the air around her. Eyes tightly shut, she tried to see all the smiling people she had passed that day, but she began to drift and was forced to open them once more. As she made her way over to the bed, she noticed something on the pillow. She gingerly smoothed the yellow hair before picking the doll up and squeezing it. She stood for five minutes, maybe ten, holding the doll and thinking of nothing but home and her parents. Tears for them flowed freely for the first time since she had left Janina.

It was only when she sat down on the bed and wiped her eyes on the pillow that she noticed the card that had been laying beside the doll. Two words in a very elegant script read simply,

Happy Christmas.


End file.
